Within the video game industry, game developers and console manufacturers are increasingly focused on improving game player immersion. In this context, immersion is the phenomenon where the player feels that they are physically in the environment of the gameplay experience, such as when the player identifies with a character (e.g., a graphical avatar) in the game. See Laura Ermi & Frans Mayra, Fundamental Components of the Gameplay Experience: Analyzing Immersion, WORLDS IN PLAY: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON DIGITAL GAMES RESEARCH, Suzanne de Castell & Jennifer Jenson, eds., Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. New York, p. 40 (2007). Immersion is associated with increased focus on and enjoyment of the game, and more sustained gameplay. See Kevin Cheng & Paul A. Cairns, Behaviour, realism, and immersion in games, CHI 2005 EXTENDED ABSTRACTS ON HUMAN FACTORS IN COMPUTING SYSTEMS, Association for Computing Machinery, p. 1272 (2005). Game developers realize, and research has corroborated, that immersion can be effectively achieved by linking a player's physical movements in the real world to the movements reflected in the video game environment. See Nadia Bianchi-Berthouze et al., Does Body Movement Engage You More In Digital Gameplay? And Why? AFFECTIVE COMPUTING AND INTELLIGENT INTERACTION, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, p. 112 (2007).
However, the industry's efforts often come in the form of improved visuals and storytelling, and only occasionally in the way players physically interact with the games. As an example, almost all games, whether they be action, adventure, sports, or simulation, are primarily based in a user controlling gameplay through their hands; specifically, the thumbs and fingers. This is true regardless of whether the gameplay actually involves actions commonly associated with a game character's hands, feet, or head. The present invention seeks to solve this deficiency in current methods and systems by engaging portions of a player's body, other than the hands, in the control of the video game character, or other electronic user interface.